The RB7 was a Formula One racing car designed by the Red Bull Racing team for the 2011 F1 season. It was driven by defending champion Sebastian Vettel and Australian driver Mark Webber. The current Red Bull team can track its origins back to the Stewart Grand Prix team that made its debut in 1997.

The RB7 was launched at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valancia Spain on 1st February 2011 and Sebastian Vettel was the first driver to test the car. The car was fastest throughout Barcelona testing with Vettel at the wheel. It won the first race of the season at Melbourne with Vettel, whilst Webber finished fifth. In the nineteen races of the 2011 season, the RB7 only failed to finish in the top five twice, when Mark Webber crashed out of the 2011 Italian Grand Prix and when Sebastian Vettel retired from the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

SebastianVettel used the RB7 to claim the 2011 World Drivers' Championship in Japan and Red Bull won the World Constructors' Championship the following weekend in South Korea. The car achieved three 1-2 finishes during the season.

Mark Webber made his Formula One debut in 2002, his first F1 win was with Red Bull Racing at the 2009 German Grand Prix. In 2012, Webber, outperformed Vettel in the early season and looked to be a major title contender, but fell away with no wins in the second half of the season after two in the Monaco and British Grand Prix, and finished the season in 6th place. Webber is also a keen fan of motorcycle racing, and has made several trips to the Isle of Man TT Races.

Two body types are included: A fully detailed 'show case' static display body, and a Lexan bodyshell for racetrack purposes. (The early bodywork components construct the ABS static display body, the Lexan bodyshell will be provided towards the end of the series).

Radio System: Kyosho KT-200 'Synchro' 2.4GHz FHSS digital radio set - Features a built-in antenna and slanted top panel housing LED indicators showing signal strength and battery power. The switches and dual rate dials are well positioned for easy access and optimal visibility, and as a safety feature the power LED flashes when the battery power is running low. The advanced ergonomic design is lightweight and delivers superior control characteristics, while the transmitter is powered by just four 'AA' batteries. The Receiver is 4-channel, allowing scope for future expansion, and in the unlikely event of radio interference or loss of signal (which could result in an out of control model), the Receiver incorporates a 'Failsafe' function, which can be set to a preset 'failsafe' position to automatically apply the brake and close the throttle.

Kyosho KS-201 steering & throttle Servos are included as part of the series.

A cross-wrench spanner is provided, though additional basic hand tools are also required, such as a '00' Philips screwdriver, Superglue and paint. Also for the the operation of the model, such as a Glo-starter, Nitro fuel (15-25% nitro content), and 'AA' batteries for the radio system.

Front wing assembly continued - Remove the six screws from both baseplates.

Retrieve the left & right wing end plates provided in Issue 1 along with the screws.

Position the left endplate as shown, so that the holes of both parts align, then secure both parts at the point arrowed using a 1.4x4mm screw. Repeat on the right side of the wing.

Position the right baseplate as shown, then place the front wing onto the baseplate so that it aligns with the projections. Secure the baseplate to the wing using the removed three 1.4x4mm screws. Repeat on the left side of the wing.

Retrieve the upper front wing pieces provided in issue 1. Place the upper right wing at the rear of the wing assembly. Align the holes and secure using a 1.4x4mm screw. DO NOT glue the tab at the opposite end as the wing may require slight adjustment in stage 3, where further supports are added to fix the upper wing.Repeat the process on the Left side of the wing.

This completes this phase of the front wing assembly, further assembly is carried out in stage 3

Rear wing assembly - You will need Superglue, a 'gel' type is recommended to avoid glue run, though avoid applying too much so as to avoid 'surface fog' around the joints. I will use "Loctite Power Flex" as it is more resitant to knock, and will also use ABS glue, (the plastic is ABS). Take great care with the application of ABS glue as it is a great paint stripper and will also damage plastic.

Apply glue to the underside of the wing top plate as shown, then fit the base plate so that its slightly hollowed edge sits over the projection in the top plate. Hold both parts firmly until the glue takes hold.

Place the wing assembly onto the inside of the left rear wing plate, and align its mount points. Secure the wing from the opposite side using a 1.4x6mm screw. Add the rear upper wing in the same way.Position the right rear wing end plate and secure with two 1.4x6mm screws.

Take the rear wing adjuster, apply superglue to the flat surface around the locating pin, then place the adjuster into the recess in the middle of the rear wing, and hold until the glue takes hold.

That's it for this stage, carefully store the decals and keep the front and rear wing protected and in a safe place until needed.

I won't describe the assembly and filling of of the shock absorber here as it is best followed via the magazine steps, other than provide a few additional notes.

Take great care when holding the shock absorber shaft with pliers which do not have smooth jaws, so as not to damage the shaft.Instead, place some masking tape onto the jaws or place a piece of paper towel between the jaws and shaft to prevent damage to the shaft. (Damage to the shaft could cause premature wear of the rubber 'O' ring within the shock body which may eventually lead to oil seapage). Smooth jaw pliers or shock pliers are best suited to the task.

Shock Oil: Thinner oil has a low viscosity and flows more quickly from one side of the piston to the other. As a result, the shock compresses more easily and then extends again. It will absorb more energy and transmit fewer shocks to the chassis, so the behaviour of the car becomes 'softer', and the wheels are less likely to lose contact with the track when they pass over bumps. However, a softly sprung vehicle will roll more when cornering and will tend to break away more.

The shock oil supplied with your RB7 has medium viscosity, rated at 100cP (a measure of viscosity). Together with the relatively hard shock srings, this ensures balanced driving behaviour on bumpy as well as faster circuits.

Another way you can adapt the road holding on your model is by fitting different springs. Hard springs offer high resistance to compression, the chassis will roll less than it would with softer springs fitted. The car will be more stable to control, but on very bumpy surfaces, a high rate can mean that the car often leaves the ground.

For R/C car builds, I tend to use a model car service stand (not included) which also has shock service area at its front. This allows you to sit the shocks upright during the oil filling and air bubble blead process. The stand also has a magnetic area at the rear for placement of screws/springs etc. The stand top has 360 degree rotation and also raises the chassis 'off-the-deck', which will come into its own when working on the chassis later on. Various types of R/C car stand are available.Shock assembly towers are also available in their own right and in various guises. Neither item is necessary for the build of this model and home-made alternatives can be found.

That's it for this stage, carefully store the shock absorber, cross-wrench and decals. Ensure that the shock oil is stored out of reach of children.

Use sandpaper to carefully roughen the internal grooves of the wheel as shown. Blow away any dust then fit the tyre onto the wheel, ensuring that it is correctly oriented as shown in the steps. Ensure that the tyre bead is seated snuggly into the grooves on both sides of the wheel.

Use superglue to secure the tyre at the points indicated to bond the tyre to the wheel. It is recommended that you protect your eyes during this process and use safety glasses, (the tyre rim could suddenly snap back in place and spalsh superglue into your eyes).

Take the 'OZ racing' decal provided with Issue 3. Use a steel rule and sharp blade to separate the decal into two as shown.

Wipe clean the decal placement area on the wheel rim, remove the backing paper from a decal and place onto the wheel rim as shown.

Repeat to place the second rim decal onto the inside of the wheel rim, opposite the decal just placed, indicated by the red arrow.

That's it for this stage. Place the wheel into a polythene bag and carefully store for use later on.

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